Kalamazoo, Michigan – There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for Vestaron Corp., a spinoff from the University of Connecticut recruited to Kalamazoo in 2007 to turn spider venom into bug-killing pesticides that are benign to people, pets, livestock and water sources.

After 11 years of research and development, the company, which was founded in 2005, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its first three pesticides and will bring the first one to market midyear and the other two next year, according to CEO John Sorenson.

The budget cuts at the state’s economic development organization have forced industry executives in West Michigan to adjust their tactics.

During an executive roundtable discussion, local economic developers said they see a wide array of issues to contend with in 2016, especially in the wake of a 27-percent budget cut at the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Ron Kitchens believes the greatest force for change is a job.

“When you’ve got a good job, you’re no longer defined by lack, you’re no longer defined by anything else,” he told the audience at the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Salute to Business lunch.

Responding to a strong economic cycle for both business and leisure travel, Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids has focused on investing in both its infrastructure and amenities.

Beyond adding parking and enhanced shopping and dining options, the airport just launched a $45 million project to consolidate the security checkpoint and improve the customer experience at the facility.

Like Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo has taken some brutal economic blows in the last 20 years. One of those hits struck the region like Navistar’s leaving Fort Wayne. In 1999, Kalamazoo lost a General Motors stamping plant that had employed as many as 4,000 after it opened in 1966.

But Kalamazoo has a unique advantage in facing adversity: a blanket scholarship for any student who graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools after attending at least all four years of high school in the district.

CENTREVILLE — Clemens Food Group is not worried about hiring more than 800 workers for its fresh pork processing plant under construction in Coldwater, Ernie Miley, vice president of human resources for the company, told the Southwest Michigan Workforce Development Board Wednesday.Full Story

The formation of a unit to oversee clinical research puts another key element in place for the Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo. The private medical school affiliated with Western Michigan University created the Center for Clinical Research with the Borgess Research Institute and Bronson Research Services. The center will support clinical research at Borgess Medical Center and Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.